Late Adulthood

I. PHYSICAL AGING

Primary Aging: aging that involves universal andirreversible changes that, due to genetic programming,occur as people get older.

Genetic programming theories of aging: theories thatsuggest that our body’s DNA genetic code contains abuilt-in time limit for the reproduction of human cells.

Physical Development: Key Highlights

The “Death Gene” theory…

The “Cell Duplication Burnout” theory…

Secondary Aging: changes in physical and cognitivefunctioning that are due to illness, health habits,environmental toxins, and other individual differences,but which are not due exclusively to increased age.

Wear-and-tear theories of aging: the theory that thephysical and cognitive functions of the body simply wear out.

Physical Development: Key Highlights

The “Weathered Machine” theory…

The “By-product Build-up” theory…

Cognitive Development

I. INTELLIGENCE, PROCESSING ABILITIES,AND MEMORYMeasuring Older Adults’ Intelligence

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS): Intelligence test for adults,which yields verbal and performance scores as well as a combined score.

Classic aging pattern:Tendency for scores onnonverbal performance to become lower as a person gets older, while verbal scores remain relatively stable.

Dual-process model of cognitive functioning inlate adulthood...

Mechanics of intelligence: the ability to process information and solveproblems, irrespective of content; the area of cognition in which there is often an age-related decline.

Pragmatics of intelligence: the dimension of intelligence that tends to grow with age and includes practical thinking, application of accumulated knowledge and skills, specialized expertise, professional productivity, and wisdom.

Everyday Problem Solving

The ability to solve real problems, as opposed to hypothetical problems, does not seem to decline after middle age.

Older adults are more effective problem solvers when confronted with everyday problems that have emotional relevance.

Memory: How Does It Change?

Sensory Memory (sensory store): Initial, brief, temporary storage of sensory information. Tends to remain stable.

Changes in Processing Abilities

Bilingualism is the cure!

Cognitive Abilities and Mortality

Lower IQ scores = earlier death!

Rehearsal: Repetition of information. Tends to remain stable.

Reorganization: Organizing information in a way that allows better retrieval of that information. Tends to decline.

Elaboration: Mentally expanding and elaborating upon information to be remembered. Tends to decline.

Working (short-term) memory: Short-term storage of information being actively processed. Tends to decline.

Digit span forward: Test of short-term memory in which a person is to repeat a sequence of numbers in the order in which the numbers were presented. Tends to remain stable.

Digit span backward: Test of short-term memory in which a person is torepeat a sequence of numbers in the reverse order in which the numberswere presented. Tends to decline.

Long-Term Memory

Episodic memory: Long-term memory of specific experiences or events, linked to time and place. Tends to decline.

Semantic memory: Long-term memory of general factual knowledge, social customs, and language. Tends to improve.

Procedural memory: Long-term memory of motor skills, habits, and ways of doing things, which often can be recalled without conscious effort. Tends to remain stable.

Priming: Increase in ease of doing a task or remembering information as a result of a previous encounter with the task or information.Tends to remain stable.

Metamemory: The View from Within

Metamemory in Adulthood (MIA): Questionnaire designed to measure various aspects of adults’ metamemory, including beliefs about how memoryworks, their own memory, and selection and use of strategies forremembering.

China versus the U.S.Priming

II. WISDOM AND LEARNING

Can Older People Improve Their Cognitive Performance?

Deterioration is related to disuse.Keeping the mind ‘plastic’ with training helps improve cognitive performance.

Wisdom

Wisdom: the culmination of a lifetime of personal growth, an exceptional breadth and depth of knowledge about the conditions of life and human affairs, and reflective judgment about the application of this knowledge.

Wisdom is present during all stages of adulthood.

Lifelong LearningOlder people learn best when materials and methods take into

account their (1) Psychological changes (2) Cognitive changes

Does Religion or Spirituality Affect Health and Well-Being?

Religion and spirituality positively related to:General well-beingMarital satisfactionPsychological functioningPhysical Health

III. MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS THAT IMPACT COGNITIVE ABILITIES

Depression

Dementia: Deterioration in cognitive and behavioralfunctioning due to physiological causes.

Alzheimer’s Disease: Progressive, degenerative braindisorder characterized by irreversible deterioration inmemory, intelligence, awareness, and control of bodilyfunctions, eventually leading to death.

Deterioration of languageDeficits in visual and spatial processingRepeating of questionsEveryday tasks unfinished or forgottenPersonality change (rigidity, egocentricity)Irritability or anxietyLack of concentration

I. THEORY AND RESEARCH

Personality, Emotionality, and Well-Being

Negative emotions tend to decrease with age.Neurotics have higher negative emotion

Positive emotions tend to remain stable.Extraverts have higher positive emotion

Erik Erikson: Normative Issues and Tasks

Ego integrity versus despair: According to Erikson, the eighth and final critical alternative of psychosocial development, in which people in late adulthood either achieve a sense of integrity of the self by accepting the lives they have lived without regrets, and thus accept death, or yield to despair that their lives cannot be relived.

Wisdom: The virtue in Erikson’s eighth stage, an informed and detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself.

Psychosocial Development

Models of Coping

Coping: Adaptive thinking or behavior aimed at reducing or relieving stress that arises from harmful, threatening, or challenging conditions.

Adaptive defenses: Mature defenses, in Vaillant’s theory, such as altruism, humor, suppression, anticipation, and sublimation.

Cognitive-appraisal model: Model of coping, proposed by Lazarus and Folkman, which holds that, on the basis of continuous appraisal of their relationship with the environment, people choose appropriate coping strategies to deal with stressful situations that tax their normal resources.

SEE ILLUSTRATION ON NEXT SLIDE

Resources Relative to Magnitude of Threat Model of Stress and Activity:an unhealthy level of stress occurs when the stressful situation is one that a person regards as threatening and possibly exceeding his or her resources.

Coping Strategies: Problem-focused versus Emotion-focused

Problem-Focused Coping: people attend carefully to the stressful event and try to take effective action.

Emotion-Focused Coping: people try to weaken their emotional reaction to a stressful event by avoiding it or avoid thinking about it.

Age Differences in Choice of Coping Styles

Proactive: A type of emotion-focused coping that involves confronting or expressing one's emotions or seeking social approval.

Passive: A type of emotion-focused coping that involves avoidance, denial, or suppression of emotions or acceptance of the situation as it is.

These strategies are particularly useful for people experiencing…Ambiguous loss: A loss that is not clearly defined or does not bring closure.

Older people tend to use more Emotion-Focused Coping, while younger people tend to use more Problem-Focused Coping.

Disengagement theory: Theory of aging, proposed by Cumming and Henry, which holds that successful aging is characterized by mutual withdrawal between the older person and society.

Activity theory: Theory of aging, proposed by Neugarten and others, which holds that in order to age successfully a person must remain as active as possible.

Continuity theory: Theory of aging, described by Atchley, which holds that in order to age successfully people must maintain a balance of continuity and change in both the internal and external structures of their lives.

Models of “Successful” or “Optimal” Aging

1. Avoidance of disease or disability2. Maintenance of physical & cognitive function3. Active engagement in social activities

The Role of Productivity

Productive activity plays a significant role in successful aging:Higher self-rated happinessBetter physical functioningLess chance of dying six years after self-report

Selective Optimization with Compensation

Selective optimization with compensation: strategy for maintaining or enhancing overall cognitive functioning by using stronger abilities to compensate for those that have weakened.

In addition to compensation, older people can…

Select a few meaningful activitiesOptimize abilities in those activities

II. LIFESTYLE AND SOCIAL ISSUES RELATED TO AGING

Work and Retirement

Retirement is a recent social phenomenonSince the 1950s, compulsory retirement has been virtually outlawedBiggest factors in deciding to retire:

HealthFinancial considerations

How Does Age Affect Attitudes Toward Work and Job Performance?

Older workers are more productive than younger workersOlder workers also tend to be more:

Dependable, Careful, Responsible, Frugal with time and materials.

Satisfaction in Retirement

Men and women who had low work morale tend to get a ‘second honeymoon’ soon after retirement.

But continuous retirement is associated with an increase in depression

Women’s well-being less affected by retirement than men’sSatisfaction is associated with social support

Life after Retirement

Family-focused lifestyle: Pattern of retirement activity that revolves around family, home, and companions.

Balanced investment: Pattern of retirement activity allocated among family, work, and leisure.

Serious leisure: Leisure activity requiring skill, attention, and commitment.

Categories of Elder Abuse…

Physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Emotional or Psychological abuse

Financial or material exploitation: illegal or improper use of an elder's funds, property, or assets.

Neglect: refusal or failure to fulfill any part of one's obligations or duties to an elder.

Self-neglect: behaviors of a depressed, frail, or mentally incompetent elderly person that threaten his or her own health or safety.

Violating personal rights: violating an older person’s rights to privacy or to make his or her own personal and health decisions.

Mistreatment of the Elderly

Elder abuse: Maltreatment or neglect of dependent older persons, or violation of their personal rights.

III. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN LATE LIFE

Theories of Social Contact and Social Support

Social Convoy TheoryIdentify helpful social-network membersAvoid unhelpful network members

Socio-Emotional Selectivity TheoryOlder adults spend time with people who meet their

emotional needs

Benefits of Social Relationships

Social support helps older people:Maintain life satisfaction in the face of

stressMaintain health and well-being

IV. CONSENSUAL RELATIONSHIPS

Long-Term MarriageTend to be the happiest marriages

Divorce and RemarriageMen are more likely to remarry than women

FriendshipsIntimacy is an important benefit of older friendships

Especially among widowed women

Friends are a source of immediate enjoymentFamily provides emotional security and support

V. NONMARITAL KINSHIP TIES

Relationships with Siblings

More than 3 out of 4 older adults have at least one living sibling

Siblings provide… More companionship than other family membersMore emotional support than friends

Becoming Great-Grandparents

Great-grandparents tend to be less involved than grandparents in child’s life due to:

Declining healthScattering of families

Most great-grandparents feel sense of Family renewalLongevity